Cozy Up to Life in a French Chateau

Spend a week in a 17th-Century French chateau on a hillside overlooking the medieval village of Urval. The chateau package is on a weekly basis, May 14-June 25, and is limited to six participants. Chateau Poujade was one of the headquarters for the Allied resistance in World War II. It has been renovated and filled with antiques, and has terraces and private gardens. Guests will dine on traditional foods and local wines, take daily excursions to historic and cultural sights, picnic in the countryside and dine in country inns. The prehistoric sites of Les Combarelles, Cap-Blanc, La Roque St.-Christophe and La Madeleine are seen. Participants will explore the towns of Sarlat, Domme and Monpazier and the limestone cliffs of the Dordogne Valley. Cost: $1,750 per person, double occupancy, including accommodations, all meals, transfers and museum entrance fees. Not included: air fare to France. Contact: Unicorn Tours, 333 Old Mill Road, No. 68, Santa Barbara, Calif. 93110; tel. (805) 967-7158.

London on Stage

“British Theatre Backstage” leaves Los Angeles for London on May 6 for 11 days. The spring tour is led by Los Angeles arts writer and lecturer Barbara Isenberg and offers seven plays plus meetings with leading British theater artists and critics. Also on this tour are two excursions: a matinee performance at the Chichester Festival, now run by Derek Jacobi, followed by supper at a country inn in Surrey, and a private cruise up the River Thames to visit the Savill Garden in Windsor Great Park. Cost: $3,690 per person, double occupancy, including round-trip air fare, accommodations at Mayfair’s Washington Hotel, breakfast daily, seven plays, two dinners, lunch on the cruise, celebrity tea, excursions and transfers. Contact: Susan Holden, Gilner International Travels, 437 S. Robertson Blvd., Beverly Hills, Calif. 90211; tel. (310) 273-6161.

Italy With Italians

The Foundation for Italian Culture, a nonprofit educational corporation, is sponsoring a 21-day escorted tour to Rome and Naples departing April 24. Participants visit ancient Roman and Greek sites as well as historic castles and palaces dating from the 11th to the 17th centuries. Eleven days are spent at a hotel in Sorrento and 10 days in a hotel in Rome, from where daily visits are taken to the Amalfi Coast, ancient Greek Paestum, Salerno, the great royal palaces and museums in Naples, Pompeii and the Royal Summer Palace in Caserta. The stay in Rome will include visits to the Villa Borghese, Piazza di Spagna, Fountain of Trevi, Piazza Navone, the Pantheon, Castel’ Sant’Angelo and other ancient Roman sites, St. Peter’s and a special tour of the Vatican Gardens, Hadrian’s villa and the gardens and fountains of the Villa D’Este in Tivoli, the Roman Hill country and Ostia Antica. Cost: $3,185 per person, double occupancy, including round-trip air fare, private motor coach, hotels, daily buffet breakfasts, 14 dinners, one special luncheon and two gala banquets, all entrance fees to museums and other scheduled sightseeing. Contact: Foundation for Italian Culture, P.O. Box 807, La Jolla, Calif. 92038; tel. (619) 587-9138.

Discover Peru

Embark on a 13-day guided tour to Peru on Aug. 1 to visit the Sacred Valley of Urubamba, the stone fortresses, temples and Inca palaces in Cuzco, Lima and the Amazon rain forest. Cost: $2,016 per person, double occupancy, including round-trip air fare from Los Angeles, transfers, hotels, daily breakfast, five lunches, five dinners and land transportation. Contact: Luz Granados at International Travel, 2625 1/2 W. Temple St., Los Angeles, Calif. 90026; tel. (800) 376-5245.

Work in Antarctica

Help preserve the wildlife and scenic beauty of Antarctica while enjoying a cruise on a 12-day international conservation expedition March 10. The journey is aboard the research vessel Adademik Sergey Vavilov. Participants spend two days at the Polish research station recording instances of beach and land debris and injuries to mammals and aquatic life as well as assist in environmental cleanup. This gives participants a chance to experience the daily routine at the station, speak with the station’s scientists about their studies in marine biology, glacier geology and ozone hole research. Cost: $3,630 per person, including round-trip air fare to Ushuaia, Argentina, project fees, meals and cabins. Contact: Overseas Adventure Travel, 349 Broadway, Cambridge, Mass. 02139; tel. (800) 221-0814.

Italian Gardens

Private and public gardens in the Italian Lake District, Veneto and Tuscany are the focus of a 15-day tour led by Daniel Campbell, manager of the UC Berkeley Botanical Garden. The tour departs May 1. Also on the itinerary: Verona, Venice, Florence, Pisa, Viterbo and Rome. Cost: $3,945 per person, double occupancy, including air fare from Los Angeles, hotels, daily breakfast, most dinners, all sightseeing fees and the services of a guide. Contact: T.O.C. Travel, 4208 N. Freeway Blvd., Suite 121, Sacramento, Calif. 95834; tel. (800) 505-2505.

Southeast Asia Cruise

The Ventura County Maritime Museum is sponsoring a 10-day cruise to Southeast Asia on Orient Lines. Ports of call include Singapore, Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang in Vietnam. Three-night stays in the cities of Bangkok and Hong Kong are included. The cruise ship offers lectures and workshops on Asian culture and history. Cost: from $3,095 per person, double occupancy, including round-trip air fare, meals, hotels, ground transportation and tours. Contact: Seaviewpoint Travel, 28441 Highridge Road, Rolling Hills Estates, Calif. 90274; tel. (800) 728-3331.

Kentucky Derby

An eight-night tour to Kentucky focuses on events surrounding the Kentucky Derby plus a five-night cruise aboard the Mississippi Queen. The trip departs May 4. Itinerary includes three nights at the Louisville Executive West Hotel, a Derby parade party and ball, Derby Day breakfast with a professional race handicapper, seats in the “Down the Stretch” infield bleachers at Churchill Downs, dinner at the hotel following the race and tours of Louisville and Kentucky bluegrass country with lunch. Cost: from $2,600 double occupancy, 20% off for the second person. On-board amenities include four meals a day as well as nightly entertainment and dancing. Not included: air fare to Louisville. Contact: Golden Bear Travel, P.O. Box 6115, Novato, Calif. 94948; tel. (800) 551-1000.

The Times is not responsible for changes in prices, dates or itineraries. These should be confirmed with cruise lines, travel agents or tour operators. More Tours & Cruises

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